


The Crystalline Reality

by OpalEyes2112



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (1963), Doctor Who (2005), Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Minor Character Death, Non-binary Master, Other, POV Alternating, Post-Episode: s12e10 The Timeless Children, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slavery, Time War (Doctor Who), Timey-Wimey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:07:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24171802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalEyes2112/pseuds/OpalEyes2112
Summary: While looking for information to entertain and/or help him conquer galaxies the Master comes across a human who may have been a certain Time Lord's companion. The strangeness and familiarity of the situation prompts him to do what he rarely considered doing before: taking on a human companion.As time goes by he develops an alliance with his new acquaintance and teaches them everything from Gallifreyan to how to conquer planets all the while trying to discern the mysteries surrounding them.
Relationships: AU Doctor/AU Master (implied), Fourth Doctor/The Master, Master & Original Character, The Crystal Guardian| Celestial Toymaker/ AU Master, The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who)
Kudos: 6





	1. Beauty Sleep

The Master strode though the green glass and red sand desert with laser screwdriver in one hand and tracker in the other. It’d been more than four hundred years since he’d even heard of _anything_ this strange.

_For once neither the Doctor nor I can be blamed for this-ehh could it be the Rani? Doesn’t seem like their sort of trouble._

He was still some 600 meters from the crater when he felt his time-warp detector whirling and flashing it’s orange light. The Master shifted the screwdriver to his other hand and read the detector’s data.

_Space-time travel usage detected: Crater created fourteen hours ago, however, cause of the crater is not from any known timeline._

The Master mused over the recordings it took then proceeded until he reached the ring around the crater. Here the usual fields of green glass and crimson sand had been warped by an intense heat turning it into a mixture of dark red and black glass and spectacularly lethal looking structures had sprung up presumably from the impact.

He bursted into laughter. To someone else it would look absolutely daunting to reach, but all he could think about was a story the Doctor had told him when they had been Theta.

_Original Sleeping Beauty…princess hidden behind a wall of thorns. Good story…always did wonder about that one. She was asleep for a hundred years and never seemed to age a day? Theta’d probably served as the unwitting inspiration for that one…evil fairy godmother though…that screams Rani though. Hell it was probably both of them. Three good faeries and one bad. Or maybe I’m going to be the bad faerie godmother? Well…there’s an idea._

He shook his head to focus on the present. The Master took another moment to appreciate the new landscape design before pointing the laser screwdriver at the wicked glass towers in his path. He smiled like the Cheshire Cat as one of the them crashed into another then another creating a haze of glass shards.

 _Dominoes._ The Master didn’t wait for the destruction to settle. Instead, he plucked a force-field umbrella reminiscent of one of his previous incarnations one of his pockets and unfurled over it over his head as he walked…if it wasn’t the for alien landscape he could’ve passed as a 21st century gent on a rainy day.

It sounded peaceful-in a sense. The pitter patter of the falling glass reminded him of the rare Gallifreyan rainstorm- _Theta and I would jump in the puddles then we got older and we made them into portals…portals…a likely possibility as to what happened here._

Finally the Master got to the edge of the crater and crouched. It was 10 meters deep and at the bottom was a capsule.

_An escape pod?_ The Master felt his brows furrow. By this galaxy’s standard it was a small pod; only big enough for one adult humanoid. All of this would’ve been fine, but the _design…88 th century Kisilian…_He jumped down to get closer look and realized he was right about the contradictions. He inspected the main engine and the blue spheres on the top and sides of the capsule. _88 th century Kisilian but made for a humanoid. 91st century Earth oxygen tanks and pressure stabilizers. _

The Master thought about turning it over but decided against it. If there was something or someone in it the motion would probably damage them. And he’d prefer not to fix whatever or-whoever-it was any more than necessary. He’d get them out and take them both to his TARDIS for further questioning- _study_.

15 seconds later the Master had correctly determined which of the seventeen panels would open the hatch and unless the security tech proved to be even more strange it would take only a minute to discover the code.

“Come on, come on….really?” The Master scoffed. He shook his head in disbelief at whoever’s lack of good security measures even as the hatch opened with a pop. “SERIOUSLY? The code’s 7-13-85-103-409?”

The Master climbed over to the hatch while he turned on another detector to check for traps. Glad to have detected none he peered inside the opening and jerked back before leaning forward again.

Inside looking for the whole universe like they were sleeping was a slender human with short russet curls wearing 21st century Earth garb. A pang went through his chest. They reminded him of the Doctor’s thirteenth incarnation back when things were terrible, and war loomed on the horizon _again._

_Omega help me._

The Master had his TARDIS materialize around the capsule quickly sending the pod to one of the laboratories and carrying the human to the medical bay just as the TARDIS dematerialized. They didn’t bear any visible injuries, but he wanted to run tests to make sure of that _and_ he was actually looking at a Homo sapien and not something else.

He laid the human down on one of the tables then got to work setting up the monitors but decided to withhold the IV until the results came back. He already got back their basic measurements: mass of 57 kilograms and height of 165 centimetres. That their blood type was a bit more difficult to determine gave him pause, but after a couple of adjustments it showed up on the screen. That the TARDIS and all his devices found it harder to declare several other things about the human gave a _bit more_ credence to his Space-Time traveler theory.

The Master swooped over to his cabinet laden with pipets and needles that ranged from incredibly small to dagger large. _I know I have something to wake them up…around here…and labeled under…ah ha! There you are…_

He grabbed a red box holding half dozen needles and selected one of the longer ones before gliding towards his unwitting patient.

“Now my dear,” He announced like a ringleader in a galactic circus with a lightning bright grin. He stuck the needle in a decent vein and pushed the plunger. “This is definitely going to hurt you more than me, but chop chop time to wake up Sleeping Beauty!”

The Master pulled the needle out and threw in the bin. And waited. And waited some more…definitely a minute more. And was about to go to eat lunch when he had to dodge a whirlwind of limbs.

“Where am I?” The human grabbed the Master his lapels and dragged him closer until he made out the exact shade of blue their eyes were. “WhereamI? WhoAREyou? Whathaveyoudonetome?!”

The urge to slap them was _strong,_ but he decided to resort to other measures. _Hypnotism is in order._ His mind reached out to their’s; mental tendrils seeking a way in.

“I am the Master and you will obey me,” He said as those tendrils managing to make it past the first layer of their mind. Those blue eyes remained stubbornly clear even though he’d already worked his way in. The Master growled. The vast majority of humans would already be under his sway so why the Daleks wasn’t it working on this one?

The Master pushed deeper into their mind and the human responded by smiling like they couldn’t tell if they were impressed or wanted to punch him. He’d seen that smile before, many times, but it was unnerving to be on the receiving end _especially from this whack job._

“Well _Master_ ,” The human stage whispered as their lips twisted into a smirk. Those rust coloured curls dangled as they leaned forward then letting go of his lapels. “My name is Max, which means the maximum, highest, greatest, etc. _Whatever_. And you should know hypnotism doesn’t work on me. _Sorry!”_

“You will listen to me, for I am the Master!” He snapped while his mind tried to force itself even deeper, grasping for information, _anything._ He ended up getting a caught in a scattered storm of memories that had gathered in front of a prodigious mental block. _An alleyway of what appeared to be either late 20 th or early 21st century Earth strewn with broken bottles looking for someone, the woosh-woosh sound of akin to an older TARDIS, and…then being helped into the capsule with drugs coursing through their veins after donning a pale grey suit. _

The Master shook his head as his mind retreated. The sounds of a TARDIS in their mind presented some tantalizing possibilities. He would say it was the Doctor, but the lack of any faces disturbed him and the memory of being shoved into a pod after being drugged didn’t seem very… _Doctorly. Mental blocks’ aren’t beyond the Doctor’s capabilities, but this-this is beyond even my ability to crack open._ He could see it as being an option in extreme circumstances, but he doubted the Doctor could install one so immense.

He went through a mental catalogue of all the Time Lords and Ladies that would be out and about in an old TARDIS and the list was extremely short. _Monk? Is he still alive? Definitely not the Rani…unless this_ Max _was part of failed experiment? Rassilon? Hell noooo! Braxiatel? I hope not. Romana…I’ve no idea what’s she like now._

The Master glanced at Max who stared at him with blue eyes that alternated between seeming far older than they looked to perfectly innocent. He’d seen eyes like those, eyes that were far too familiar for a Time Lord. In a bizarre moment Max reminded him of _home_ and his chest clenched with longing for those red grass fields, for _Theta and our dreams of traveling together._ By the next moment the Master came to a decision and hoped he wasn’t making a mistake.

“Would you like to travel with me?” He tried to say as smoothly as possible-which ended up amounting to blurting. “We’re already in the Vortex and I don’t think you have any friends, family…what do you say?”

Max leaned back against the med bay wall with a bewildered expression.

“Okayyy….yes, Why not?” They said after a long silence. “Say…do you mind if I use a bathroom? I _really_ need to freshen up.”


	2. Lessons in Escape & Linguistics

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Master teaches his new companion.

They’d been traveling together for over a month and the Master felt like his patience was starting to pay off. Maybe, somewhat… _definitely working on it._ He thought as Max struggled to get out of the trap that left them dangling from the TARDIS ceiling from an iridescent web of ropes. Red-faced with frustration Max seemed to be working on untying the knot on their left ankle while trying to work out the best way to fall.

“If it makes you feel any better it’s only a 4-meter drop,” The Master called out after the human cursed for the fourteenth time. “Well…if you do it correctly.”

“Ergh! Why did you hoist me up here anyway?” The human growled and for once, stopped thrashing to glare at him.

The Master took a deep breath and tried to appear as nonchalant as possible. _Be gentle with the crazy human. Gentle…ish. I can go this…I think._ “Well my dear Max you said you wanted to acquire useful skills and so far, your Gallifreyan is atrocious, Venusian karate pathetic, _but_ you do show some promise in chemical and temporal engineering.”

Max’s responding smile was radiant with sarcasm and the Master briefly wondered if he should press on the things that’d been nagging his attention.

_No, best do it after another night of nightmares. With any luck the human’ll remember them this time. But until then…use what Three used to call “baby steps”._ The Master wouldn’t admit it, but he was feeling _something_ for Max that felt suspiciously like genuine friendliness. He juggled with that idea and the excuse that he was exercising his diplomacy skills.

“Soo, that’s what you’re teaching me now?” Max asked still grinning. “Houdini skills?”

_They know of Houdini, at least enough to make a proper reference._ The Master filed that tidbit away for later review before answering.

“My dear Max, you’re going to learn something _right now.”_ The Master chuckled watching the human scowl when they finally managed to free their ankle only to get their right arm stuck. “ _Houdini has nothing on me.”_

He watched the words sink into the human and could almost see the light bulb go on in their head.

“…that’s the trick, isn’t it? Prepare ahead so I don’t get caught messes in the first place…and to escape from _this one…_ ,” Max asked as they twisted around until they were upright so their weight was bearing on one rope. “Could you _please_ toss me your laser screwdriver?”

“Add something to your request and I’ll think about it.” A fountain of glee sprung at the sight of the human trying to suppress the simmering rage and put on a polite mask. _You know, the Doctor’s right. Having a companion could be a lot of fun._

Max wrung their hands. “May I borrow your laser screwdriver please _Master?”_

The Master smirked. “That’s better.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled it out looking for one of the safety settings. He flicked on a small green switch ensuring that the human’d be able to use it on the tethers, but not on him or his TARDIS. Once he finished the new setting he threw it so it hit Max square in the chest though the human barely managed to catch it. The human studied the screwdriver before glancing up at him.

“Which one of these buttons activates the laser and _NOT_ something else?”

“Do you even know from which end it would come from?”

“Hmmm…oh I don’t know,” Sarcasm couldn’t have gotten any heavier in Max’s voice. “Maybe it’s the end that _you_ have pointed towards the things? The part of the bloody screwdriver that’s _narrower_ than the rest?”

The Master didn’t know whether to punish them or be impressed until the emotions were swept off of Max’s face. He silently watched as they pointed the screwdriver at rope supporting their weight and clicked on a button that sent out a blue laser. The laser blew apart the rope and Max fell, but not as much as they should’ve. His TARDIS had quickly reconfigured the room so they landed on a elegantly carved wooden table he’d forgotten existed. Even so the human hissed in pain and the Master remained in his spot not making a move to help them.

“How did you know that was the correct setting?” He hoped he looked like a strict, brooding professor. I _t was impressive,_ but he wouldn’t admit it. _At least not yet, maybe in a year-or a 100._

Max was straightening up brushing back their curls and examining their blue bespoke suit for signs of damage. Content that the damage being their skin, an ankle, and their black shoes the human started approaching him with the air of a student trying _not_ to slap the teacher.

“I may not have your mind, but I do have a damn good memory.” Max muttered when they were still some meters away. They stopped and smiled like a happy shark. “And I’ve checked it out behind your back.”

_When in Rassilon’s name did I leave it out for you to get at?!_ The Master gawked at the human before remembering himself.

“Also you said Houdini had nothing on you…and I realized it would be just like you to ensare someone using materials that would record any impacts it took and readjust itself accordingly.” The human was practically glowing with pride; the smile got wider and their blue eyes glittered with a hint of mischievousness he hadn’t seen before. “Your laser screwdriver would destroy it thoroughly enough it wouldn’t be able to.”

_Alright…you’re perceptive…for a human._ The Master mulled over that and his mind hopped on a different train. He still had no idea where or when they came from. _And apparently neither do they. Still after a month._

Judging by their accent and personal quirks he’d have guessed Earth British, French, or American. The accent flew across the board, but those seemed to be three most dominant. They also had an incredible adoration for tea, several branches of mathematics and the sciences, loved what he found to be British bands, but at the same time those were popular things. More interesting was their knowledge and perspectives. It all pointed to early to mid 21st century Earth, but they didn’t show up on any database _of this universe._

Max started saying something and the Master forced himself to pay attention.

“…I am pretty hungry. So…would you like to…eat with me?” The human was staring at him with their head tilted blue eyes boring into his with a pleading tint. “Go somewhere to eat? Like _not_ the TARDIS?”

“Alright, fine we can go eat.” Max started smiling and the Master took the opportunity. “ _However, I_ will choose the restaurant.”

Max’s lips creased while raising one brow in anxiety watching him stride out of the exercise room and into a long hallway. The Master smirked all the way to the console room as he compiled a list of acceptable places to eat that a human could also enjoy. _I think I’m starting to like this deal._

7 months into their situation and Max felt… _somewhat safer._ The Master now longer tried to ki-educate them on survival techniques and now resorted to STEM and language studies. He’d talked to them about shoving off their education to someone else.

_Several someones. Someone named Susan, someone named Braxiatel, and someone named The Rani who’s fiery enough to make even this “Master” shut up._ Max was under no illusions. It wasn’t their education the Master’d had been so concerned about. It was what the Master referred to as a “psychic block”; the real reason that trying to remember much of their past was proving to be-so far-impossible. Even their nightmares were more about feelings-of blinding rage and a grief that made her want to scream until it tore apart the sky. _Do I even want to remember?_

_Maybe that’s why History’s been absent in the studies. Could he waiting? For me to remember more first to that it’s more likely to actually be a real memory? Wait…what the hell would even be considered a real memory,_ how _would we know-I need coffee._

Max leaped off the plush chair in the TARDIS’s library and went out in search of a kitchen. Once in the dark blue paneled hallway they felt the TARDIS hum settle in their mind and lead them onwards. Unlike the Time Lord the TARDIS had been genuinely helpful since the beginning; for the first six weeks it had rearranged it’s interior enough so that they didn’t get lost and after all it used it’s humming as a type of compass. A lighter, more chipper tune told Max that they were headed in the right direction and if they went the wrong way the hum would deepen until it reminded them of whale song.

Within fifteen minutes Max was situated in the kitchen with coffee, a biscuit, and an egg sandwich that looked like something they could’ve gotten from… _the thought was dragged away before it could be even be examined closely_. The only thing left was the impression that blue eggs were _not_ a common staple from _before_ and neither was violet coffee.

Max was taking a sip of it when a string of lightning-strike fast Gallifreyan greeted them. Turning they saw that the Master was wearing a black suit with a bright lava coloured lining that went well with his dark hair and even better with the amber eyes. _How do I say nice outfit in Gallifreyan?_

The Gallifreyan that passed from their lips was still stumbling and if the Master’s booming laughter was anything to go by they did _not_ say “Good morning to you too. That outfit looks good on you.”

Watching the Master continue to laugh and even have to hold on to the table for support Max knew perfectly well that their face was Earth strawberry red with embarrassment.

“Wwwhhhaaattt?” Max whined when the Time Lord finally started composing themselves, but still giggled in bursts.

The Master turned to them with a hysterical grin. “I grant it’s much improved, but…hehehehehe…”

He started giggling again then flopped himself down in the chair across from them.

“How does ‘Good morning to you camel! That ice toad ate my grandmother’s toothbrush in cotton jumpers’ sound to you?” Now the Master _really_ started to laugh. Mostly because Max face planted into the table which exposed their now burgundy ears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to keep this Master in line with a lot of the traits of his previous incarnations, but a slightly less evil given he's centuries after Sacha's Master and a couple of incarnations are between them. I also decided to lengthen this fic and give a chapter for every year Max is the Master's companion.


	3. Paintings Of An Old Paradise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Master considers taking his companion to a party where the Fourth Doctor will be while Max ruminates over what they found in the Master's vault.

“So remind me again,” Max said as they watched him fiddle with the TARDIS controls with a pensive air. “Why are we going to 1982 Earth for New Year’s Eve?”

The Master paused at the time dial as he weighed his next words. 12 months on the TARDIS with him had prompted far more developments in the human than he’d previously thought. Their Gallifreyan was actually decent and their skill level was more akin to that of a Time Lord in their second decade. On the more frightening side their personality was fractured; they had a level of empathy and perceptiveness that reminded him of the Doctor…but buried in Max’s dark depths was a freezing ruthlessness.

“Visit one of your possible home planets,” The Master offered as they checked for changes in their expression. _None…Omega that can infuriating. “_ …I also want to introduce you to an old friend of mine-from a distance.”

That got their attention. Max’s head tilted then their lips curled like a new leaf.

“The Doctor.”

The Master nodded and he found himself smiling as well. It’d been nearly two centuries since he’d seen the Doctor, ever since the Doctor cured his insanity and they’d traveled together before The Master’d decided to strike it on his own. Find out who that new incarnation was then getting to work on being a better Time Lord.

“Yes.” A warm glow was blooming in chest at the thought of seeing the Doctor again, especially a younger Doctor. _Before the Time War. Before all the shit between us blew up and an entire planet paid the price. “_ The Doctor’s fourth incarnation. Tall fellow with a scarf so long I wonder how he didn’t regenerate sooner.”

“I know,” Max said softly as their smile turned into something gentler. “You have…what? Half a dozen photos of him in one of the rooms.”

The Master turned to fully face the human. There were only two rooms in the entire TARDIS where he displayed pictures of the Doctor: his suite and what Max called the basement. And based on the softness of their expression he could guess which one they’d visited.

“What?” Max shrugged at his affronted expression, but then got sheepish when he crossed his arms. “Ohhh…”

“Oh indeed,” The Master stage whispered. “How the hell did you solve the equation?”

Max opened and closed their mouth while _almost_ turning to face the walls of the console room then settled on biting their lip and looking perfectly guilty.

“Ummm…hmph…”

“Well?” The Master felt ridiculously liked a parent waiting for the kid to confess to stealing a cookie.

“Yeah…about that.” The human was folding their arms to their sides and putting on what they probably thought was a soothing smile. “Your TARDIS taught me how to solve it.”

“Umm…Master? Are you…okay?”

The Master was planted to the spot in shock. His TARDIS was loyal damn it! But here it was giving this human the keys to the room in the basement he’d taken especial pains to hide. Why had his own TARDIS, the TARDIS whose devotion to him had been unquestionable, betray him?!

 _“How much of it did you see?” The light in the console room suddenly seemed to boarder on_ painful. The Master squinted his eyes as his simmering frustration threatened to build.

“Not much,” his companion squeaked. “Just a couple bottles of something I thought was champagne, some paintings, and the photos.”

“Paintings?” The Master opened his eyes to find Max farther away and obsessively focused on everything his hands were doing. Though he’d been tempted early on he’d never pointed the TCE at them and the laser screwdriver only four times. The Master needed to sit down and examine his bizarre protectiveness.

 _“_ Yeah…there’s a couple of Dali paintings.” Max’s blue eyes were wider than some tea mugs he’d seen.

A storm of suspicion was brewing in the Master, but he ignored it- _for now._ Yes he was avid collector of Dali artwork, but there were other paintings in there. Art pieces he’d created during his Academy years. The Master also knew better than to completely trust the human; they were uncannily good at reading him and determining the path of least drama/wrath. _And sometimes too good of a liar for their own good._

“Max?”

“Yes Master?” _Ohhh, you’re really trying to stay in my good graces._

 _“_ Never go into the basement vault again unless I give you my explicit permission and you are absolutely certain I’m in my right mind.”

“Yes Master.” His human companion looked desperate to flit away at any moment and the Master realized they’d have to go somewhere while him and the TARDIS had a chat.

Max fiddled around with a watch the Master’d insisted they get _to look respectable and more easily pass in an earlier time_ in one of the laboratories the Master had assigned for Temporal Engineering 101 _._ Like the clothes he’d gotten for them is wasn’t cheap _or hell ordinary. At least not anymore._

It’d been a pet project of their’s to turn it into a multi-use tool. The Master had been drilling them in every field of STEM they were aware existed plus some they’d never imagined would ever exist. _Temporal engineering, quantum engineering, teleportation, and some I still can’t wrap my head around. Bloody awful in it._ How the Master expected them to be able to cram what…thousands? Millions? Of years of information in a year was beyond Max. They’d established a rudimentary psychic link which helped, but apparently downloaded all of it in an instant could have dangerous complications.

Max huffed then leaned back to look at what they’d accomplished. The incandescent lights made the table look like a polished pearl, the perfect sterility of the environment interrupted only by the strewn clockwork parts and whatever the hell project the Master had left in a far corner. They wanted to scream. Turning the watch into something that the Master would consider multi-use and useful was going to take years, maybe eons. _Temporal engineering is a pain in the bollocks._

 _Two, two projects I have that the sad bastard wants me to complete before I’m considered “worthy of TARDIS lessons”. This and the sonic fountain pen…_ Max’s thoughts eventually refused to consider the engineering tasks and instead turned to the paintings they’d found in the vault. The Dali paintings had been pretty cool, but the ones of Gallifrey called to them like a siren. _Only one of them didn’t have the blonde boy in it. That one had a girl in pigtails…the Master’s daughter? He barely speaks of her._

Max’s throat tightened and a shiver raced down their spine as they remembered the blotches in the paint, like someone had held it close to them when they cried. The Master mentioned her only a handful times; all they’d been told was that his daughter had been named Aniyalondar, she’d had a daughter named Susan, and she’d been killed during a political revolt. No mention on who’d been Aniyalongdar’s spouse, who had killed her, or what happened to Susan other than she’d been spirited away from Gallifrey.

It was a curious situation and like a cat Max acted on their own insatiable desire to investigate _anything_ that roused their curiosity. The basement vault and a room deep in the library had proved especially useful in calming it down; the vault yielded up several documents written in High Gallifreyan and the library mercifully contained a dictionary for the damned language. From there it’d had taken two days of translating with no small help from the Master’s TARDIS, but all the pantheons it’d been worth it.

Some of the documents, it had turned out, were marriage licenses. One between the Doctor and someone named Patilunora, another between the Master and apparently a Cardinal Inverant, and the most recent between Aniyalondar and Neris. The rest were divorce files signed by the Master and Inverant then if the dates were to be believed the Doctor and his spouse signed theirs’s a week later. _Just like the marriages, but in reverse; Doctor married first then the Master followed suit a week later._

_And honestly, why the hell does the Master have the Doctor’s documents?!_ It baffled Max, but something about their actions was causing something in their brain to try and switch gears. It reminded them of something, of _someone_ they had known. Even held dear…Max’s mind turned inward far deeper than usual. Her mind grabbing onto the thought and trying to follow it to its origin was like someone using string to get out of the Minotaur’s labyrinth. There were so many side doors, abrupt ends, and bizarre twists that had to have been constructed by someone else. The same someone who put up the psychic block as the Master called it, the block that greeted them like a Minotaur would, except this one was preventing Max from chasing down the memory.

It was driving them mad. Max thought about battling the block, but the damn thing was leagues above their abilities so instead they turned down a short alley in their mind parallel to the block where their thoughts echoed. _I had someone just like that. Years and years ago, but what happened? Where are you? Who are you? Or were?_

Suddenly their mind went back to the paintings, especially the one dedicated to “Theta”. The one where “Theta” is perched in a silver tree amidst a sea of that red grass, the sunlight turning his hair to candlelight and his eyes a lot brighter than in the others. Why did he seem so familiar?

Apparently, they’d been _very_ deep in thought since it took the Master tapping their head to jolt out of it with a vertical jump that’d make any track coach proud.

“What? What is it?” The Master glanced from their phase 0 watch project to their face with a frown.

“We’ve landed,” he said before turning to make his way to the wide-open door. “1982 London, United Kingdom.”

The Master turned briefly to smile at her. “I have it on good authority that the fourth incarnation of my dearest friend will be attending a party there. Now come on! You should get dressed in something tubular!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be entirely from the Future Master's perspective and will feature Sarah Jane Smith and the Fourth Doctor.


	4. Finding the Fourth and Theories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Master takes Max back in time to 1980s Earth where they encounter the Fourth Doctor and the Master makes short term amends.

The Master stood in front of mirror admiring cut of his suit and the way the abyss black fabric created the illusion that his amber eyes were glowing. It was anachronistic, but what was the point of being a psychic if you couldn’t “convince” people to not give a damn?

He was still taking in the sight of himself and wondering if this Doctor would like when he heard the horse like footfalls of Max in platform shoes meander in from the hall.

“What. In. The. Hell?” They appeared in the mirror looking like a giant blue butterfly in their satin jacket and trousers. “Why are you dressed like some 1930s Earth mobster?”

The Master glared at them before turning back to the mirror. He wished the Doctor were there to explain what the fuck Max was talking about. He knew this planet’s history well, but not _that_ well.

He strode over to the stand where his laser screwdriver was and pressed a better activating its chameleon circuit. The Master turned to observe Max’s mouth twist in concern as its texture changed and it lengthened taking on the appearance of a black cane.

“Are you really going to take that to the party?” Max’s eyes lifted from the cane to meet his. “I thought this was supposed to be a friendly get together?”

The Master twirled the cane like a baton and smiled. “First lesson for the evening: expect the unexpected.”

Max opened their mouth, but the Master held up a hand to stop the question he knew would’ve arrived.

“Lesson Two: Just because everyone at a party looks human doesn’t mean they actually are.”

Max snorted and held up their right wrist where there was the silver watch for his inspection. “Like this?”

The Master frowned then slid closer to get a closer look. It had a short range vortex manipulator; only capable of propelling the wearer at most a year forwards or backwards or 10 kilometers in any direction, and something else.

He undid the clasp and noticed it weighed 50 grams more than before and the clockface was lined with dozens of diminutive mirrors.

“Do you know what you made this into?” He asked tapping on the clockface and Max frowned in response.

“I was hoping to turn it into a flashlight,” They murmured as their hands twitched at their sides. “Why? I didn’t…I didn’t turn it into something else did I?”

“A flashlight?” Max shrugged with a worried expression.

“Yeah, well…not just to find my way around.”

“I noticed.” The Master took apart the back of the watch and it confirmed his suspicions.

“This can get bright enough to blind someone,” The Master huffed and raised a brow in question. “Actually, scratch that, this can get bright enough to blind a room. Why did you decide to implant a portable fusion reactor?”

“So all I would need for it to work is being surrounded by air molecules for it to work…AH!” Max hurriedly held up a hand to pause him. “Also I think I figured out a way to convert energy to matter-safely this time.”

The Master snorted then squinted at them. “I should hope so after you almost blew up the other laboratory. I….”

He pressed down on that sentence. Once in a great while he would forget they weren’t Gallifreyan. Moments like this not only reminded him they were human (Gallifreyans could convert energy to matter then back again by the time they were fourteen and Max being somewhere in their 20s would be a master at it), but also of how Theta and his first self would sabotage each other’s experiments.

_Theta would either laugh or shout my name for the entire class to hear-and Rani would look like she plotting our demise…which she probably was considering at least five times a week._

It made his heartache and looking at Max with their short rust coloured hair took on a more painful aspect now as it occurred to him how Theta had always wanted to be a ginger.

The Master took a deep breath trying to will away the heavy emotions so that only nonchalance stayed.

“Ready to go?” Max nodded and he followed them out the door into the waiting hallway. Silently they made their way to the console and the Master, after quadruple checking all the settings, led the way out of the TARDIS and into a party at a historic London club. Almost immediately he got to work hypnotizing any of the waitstaff that got near him. After the third one he was satisfied with the hidden weapons he’d created and turned to watch Max emerge from a seeming tall replica of the _Starry Night._ With wide eyes they looked around at the black-tie gathering of scientists, politicians, and military officers; some of whom the Master recognized from his years battling UNIT.

Standing besides a table talking to someone was the Brigadier with his wife, farther away there was a group of young men and women among which he recognized as the officers named Yates and Benton, and then there was that woman he vaguely remembered being in the Death Zone with the third incarnation.

_What was her name?_ The Master tapped his chin as he stared at her so hard it seemed like his gaze should’ve broken the molecular bonds of the air between them. Then it clicked. _Sarah…Sarah Jane Smith._

The Master swung his gaze around as he reached with his mind for the Doctor and almost immediately felt him respond; his mind brushed against his with curiosity and more than a little caution. If it were almost anyone else he’d have found it odd that they were apparently on the roof.

Before more could happen he was dragged back to his body by Max saying something.

“What?” Max jerked their head towards Sarah whose attention they’d somehow attracted. _Who the Gallifrey am I trying to kid? Doctor’s companions can smell trouble from the opposite side of the universe-of fucking course she’s walking towards us._

Max’s mouth was now pressed into a thin line and he was starting to wonder if it was because the woman looked familiar or Max had noticed his laser beam stare. _Probably the later._

The Master turned to Max and was starting to tell them their cover story when a momentous shout was followed by a shriek and a crystal rainfall of shattered champagne glasses reached them. He turned just in time to see three people sprawled out on the floor eleven meters away surrounded by a pool of alcohol with a glass shore. It seemed one of the waiters had bumped into someone then had the misfortune to swerve into Sarah as he’d tried to stop tray’s fall.

Max pried themself from the wall to get a closer look at the woman leaning forward to talk to the man rapidly moving about. The Master watched them observe the situation and wondered about that singular expression they maintained. To an unfamiliar eye it would seem nonplussed yet there were predatory characteristics that made The Master wonder how much of it was purely _Max_ or something they’d picked up from the Master.

“Is she this Doctor’s companion?” Max turned to him swiftly arching a brow in questioning.

“For a time.” The Master knew extreme little of Sarah Jane Smith. He’d only met her once when the first five incarnations of the Doctor had been stuck in the Death Zone. A ripple of anger heated his chest. _Thousands of years later and I’m still angry over that bastard Three taking the seal from me and his future self having the gall to call me a liar. Typical!_

 _“_ I never met her,” He reiterated then continue his search for any sign of the world’s longest scarf.

Max frowned in response then slid to one side. “But she was approaching us.”

The Master’d noticed. It was the main reason he was so grateful that he’d hypnotized a handful of the attendees when they’d entered the party.

“She won’t be a problem,” The Master reassured his companion. “She doesn’t know either of us, but the Doctor…this particular incarnation can be a sly bastard.”

Max looked at him with unease glinting in their eyes. The Master had given them a lame excuse as to why they came to this here and when and they both knew it. He could read the question off of the surface of their mind:

He watched as Max started fidgeting as restlessness settled on their shoulders.

“So…” Max said after a long silence hung over them. “You want to see if I can integrate myself with this company?”

The Master nodded at which Max started moving towards a group mostly composed of officers he recognized as UNIT and the others might’ve been scientific researchers. Half way through he watched as they turned back to check where Sarah Jane was then continued on.

Now alone the Master felt a wave of relief and smiled as he went to see where the Doctor wandered off to.

He’d been twenty minutes at this get together and somehow, impossibly, there was no Doctor in sight. Eventually the Master took up a spot in another room near a table of where some card game was being played.

He watched as a gent he didn’t recognize was chosen to be the dealer. The man shuffled the cards with a practiced ease after dispatching the jokers then gave each person 4 cards, but set aside 6 for himself. This particular round went on for twelve minutes, but the Master already figured out the rules for the game and had noticed some personal quirks that revealed the players’ bluff.

A second round was about to begin with the lady to the first dealer’s right taking up the mantle when he suddenly felt the Doctor’s mind trying to pull apart the mental wall he’d fortified before leaving the TARDIS.

“-And here I thought the High Council was done with me,” A deep voice muttered behind him causing the Master to perform a leaping 180 bringing him face to face with a multi-coloured scarf wrapped around a very tall Time Lord.

_Damn the man!_ He’d known the Doctor must have close, but not _this_ close. _How the hell did he sneak up on me without tripping everyone?!_

The Master quickly schooled his features into an artistic nonchalance of one brow slightly raised and a knowing smirk.

“Dear Doctor, I’m certain that they aren’t.” He watched as this incarnation’s eyes briefly widened before contracting in suspicion.

“The Master.” _Oh and doesn’t_ that _sound accusing?_

“How did you get a new body?” The Doctor asked with a hint of steel. His posture was rigid and he regarded the Master as one would a snake that might lunge at any second.

The Master smiled. “It’s a secret-one you’re not supposed to know for ohh…another what? Six centuries?”

_That_ definitely took the other Time Lord aback.

“What are you doing here?” To everyone in the universe it would’ve sounded afraid, suspicious, and angry. And it was all that, but it also held a thread of hopefulness. “Are you crossing your timeline? Trying to sabotage UNIT?”

The Doctor scowled. “Kidnap someone?”

The Master frowned. He’d forgotten how suspicious some of these past incarnations were-though his own past lives had given the Doctor more than ample reason. A wave of guilt and millennia deep regret washed over him.

“If by kidnapping someone you mean steal you away for the moment…or more then yes,” The Master responded as that hope started to spark into life.

The Doctor studied his eyes then turned to survey the room, probably to see who, if anyone, was watching them. Once he was satisfied, he turned to the Master and displayed a grin full of teeth.

“Follow me.”

“Now _th_ is is a good view.” The Doctor remarked while the Master opened a bottle of Draconian Red. The Doctor had led him back to his TARDIS and allowed him to set out a small dinner while he set their new destination to be 5000 meters above London. From here all of London and it’s suburbs lay before them like a magnificent painting, especially with massive clouds roiling around the TARDIS.

The Master didn’t say anything. _Life is fucking weird. Millennia ago I was glorifying in the sight of an Earth being savaged by the Tocaflane, the Doctor was my captive, and I believed I was going to win. Now I’m sitting here with the one incarnation I killed and feeling melancholy. What the hell?_

“You’re from the future,” the Doctor stated as he poured himself a glass. “The young woman is a hostage or a potential scapegoat?”

“Neither,” The Master responded before his chest constricted. “ _T_ _hey_ are…are…oh for the love of Omega…”

“They’re a companion.”

The Doctor’s brows shot up and he bursted into laughter his body shaking so hard that his scarf twitched like a python. The Master scowled, but the reaction made sense; he could count on one hand how many traveling companions he had by his thirteenth body and _none_ of them had been human.

“Are you done yet?” The Doctor broke off his laughter and gave him a huge grin.

“Provided you’re telling the truth you’re definitely from the future…” His face suddenly narrowed as his eyes took on an intensity that was uniquely _The Doctor. “Or,_ are you actually from the past? Third incarnation?”

“No, my dear Doctor.” The Master shook his head then forced his eyes to meet those forget-me-not blue eyes. “I can assure you I’m from the future.”

“Will you allow me to remember this?”

“No.” A sigh left the Master and he turned back to the vista before them savouring the cold wind. He let out a humourless giggle. “By Omega I wish I could. Do it without destroying our timelines? That’d be a real trick.”

“Why are you here?” The Doctor asked and tracked his movements when he grabbed a sandwich. “You could’ve visited so many other Doctors, but you choose me. Why?”

_Because I’ve been feeling ridiculously melancholy and I’ve felt bad about ending you and I’m actually sorry for my past-self’s stupidity that you’ll face in your future._

“You might never believe me, but I want…” The Master regarded his wine glass as he considered his words. “…to make things right with you.”

The Doctor looked away then went about gathering food from the platters and for an hour they ate in silence watching the clouds swirl around the TARDIS.

It became too much for the Master and he broke it like a river overpowering a dam.

“I did, and still do, feel terrible…I hate it!” The words were suddenly out in the open, slashing at them like a whip by exposing their shared pain. That hellish failed political revolt and the toll it had taken…that was how it all started. “That stupid, fucking, seven million damned coup!

The Doctor tensed, but then…he hugged the shaking Master.

“Pandad…that _bastard_ he….he….”

“I know.” The Doctor sighed and tightened his grip on the distraught mess of a Time Lord. A million years could pass, but his daughter’s death would still haunt him. He always did wonder though if it still tore at the Doctor. “I blamed you and my son blamed both of us. Actually-I think he blames me.”

The Doctor’s mouth grew thin and his eyes grew distant even as they glimmered with the threat of tears.

“After all _I_ was the one who told her I would side with the students. You said you would be there and you did, but…I ran. I took Susan and ran.”

The Master smiled and judging by the Doctor’s expression it must’ve looked crazed even by his standards.

“I know.” He wrapped his arms around the Doctor so they clung to each other like they used to. “You ran thinking she’d be safer on Earth. I already know you were supposed to bring her back, but…well… _that’s_ why he’s never going to forgive you.”

At this the tears crested and slid down the Doctor’s long cheeks.

“’He’s _never_ going to forgive you.’” A shuddering breath passed from his lips as he took in the real meaning of those words. “And being from the future-we never reconcile, do we? Neris and I?”

The Master scowled. He hadn’t meant to reveal that tidbit.

The Doctor looked like he wanted to crumble, but his own strength wouldn’t let him.

“At least you avenged her or so I heard.”

The Master nodded and the memory of Pandad’s body slumping against the red walls of the Presidential suite flooded back. He’d died too gently. After killing his daughter, sweet Aniyalondar barely a century old, it was far too merciful. Far too merciful for the massacre of students he ordered taking so many good people down.

They sat together in silence afterward with their conversation creating a temporary salve for the rift that had formed between them. It pained both of them that this would have to be temporary, but there were rules even they wouldn’t break.

When the Big Ben tolled midnight the Doctor got to his feet and strode off in the direction of the hallway and turned towards the Master.

“Well?” He asked as one hand gripped his hat while the other was at his scarf. “Aren’t you coming?”

The Master watched the Doctor sleep as they laid curled face to face in the Doctor’s bed. One dive into the Doctor’s mind showed a happy dream of him and several of his companions visiting Eaistra 3. For a moment he envied his occasional bouts of peacefulness. After the Time War the Doctors the Master then Missy had encountered had been far more turbulent and for extremely good reasons. And where the Doctor was worse the other Time Lord had taken it to new heights.

His teeth raked his lips as a tumultuous wave of regret hit him. _Omega how I wish I could fuck with my own timeline. Fix all the hell I put everyone and everything through…the things I’ve done to make me want to bury myself in insanity again. Waking up to find clarity…sometimes I wonder if I haven’t nearly died and found myself in another universe._ He shook his head. _Sanity is a hell made out of crystal clear moments all building to my eternity._

Shudders ran through the Master as he choked down his emotions before he started brushing his fingers against his best frenemy’s exposed shoulder. It was a strange desperation-to hold on to these brief moments of peace especially with his own Doctor missing.

The emotional Time Lord’s fingers were in the midst of tracing out a phrase in circular Gallifreyan when he felt the tell-tale rumble of this incarnation rousing.

“Morning,” he whispered against the crazy brown curls.

“Good morning.” The Doctor let out a deep sigh as his eyes fluttered open. “You know something about this still bewilders me.”

The Master shoved his face with a groan before coming up to face his best frenemy. He already knew it was and had been expecting this line of question since they met.

“You’ll forget it anyway,” he muttered with a sharp inhale. “What’s the point?”

The Fourth incarnation smiled as he sat up then leaned forward so he loomed over the shorter Time Lord.

“Do I need a reason?” His smile never wavered despite the Master’s answering scowl at which he simply shrugged. “I’m curious and if you’re going to make me forget this even happened what’s the harm in answering me this: why have you taken on a human companion?”

The renegade underneath him maintained his annoyed expression then made a shooing motion so he could, at least, be comfortable while he explained… _or tries too._

The Master propped himself up so his back was supported by a silk pillow; even then he twined his fingers together before answering.

“I don’t think they’re human-or at least-simply human.” The erratic Time Lord grit his teeth when he realized he’d fumbled over the words. To top it off it was a shoddy explanation and the Doctor deserved better.

“They-Max-remind me of Gallifrey and when I first brought them abroad I ran every test known to the universe to get as much data on them as possible,” he said and if he was an expert on the Doctor’s body language the Time Lord was rapidly gaining his full attention. “The results came back giving me: height, weight, blood type, species. However, it was less determinate on some other things. I’ve no idea how many years Max actually has or even what time period or planet they came from. They have a psychic block in their mind that even I’m not powerful enough to break and it’s frustrating to Rassilon!”

“The capsule I found them makes as much as sense as it’s former occupant and everything about the situation screams Space-Time traveler…”

“But they’re not a Dalek or a Time Lord,” the Doctor interrupted unashamedly. “Unless…this Max is a Time Lord that used their chameleon arch.”

The Master’d suspected this, however the lack of an arch found either in the capsule or Max made his hearts hurt every time he dusted off the possibility.

He swallowed on the pain and hoped to whatever higher beings, if any, that actually acted as benevolent deities that if this was the case then Max would find their arch and escape the clutches of a human lifespan.

“There wasn’t an arch.” _Why does it feel like there’s glass in my throat? “_ I share your theory, but…it _hurts…_ because then there’s a high possibility that Max’s arch is lost. Either they dropped it or someone stole it, doesn’t matter because they’re still screwed over. Unless…”

_Definitely not a wise idea!_

“Besides…” The Master struggled to get the words out and noted an emerging softness in the Doctor’s eyes at what he said next. “They…remind me of you and-and of home. Max reminds me of myself too-from our Academy years before we got too competitive for each other.”

His friend nodded with his gaze now studying the ceiling as if it held all the answers, or maybe just to get his mind focused on something else.

_Theta! You know data answers questions not ceilings._ The Master shook his head to clear the voice that sounded like his back when he’d been known as Koschei of House Oakden.

“How long?”

“What?”

The Doctor turned over on his side to face him again. “How long do you think you’ll coach them?”

The Master didn’t say anything for a while and his fellow Gallifreyan watched him with those inquisitive, night blue eyes.

Truth be told, for the first week the Time Lord had kept telling himself that he’d drop Max off on 21st century Earth for one of the Doctor’s incarnations to deal with. Then weeks turned into months and despite all the attempts made on both sides to kill the other’s patience ( _or maybe because of the attempts)_ they’d developed something of a friendship. When months turned into years it’d become evident he appreciated having someone resembling an apprentice.

_Is it because I deliberately failed in so many other relationships? That, for once, I actually want to succeed with this one? As proof to myself that I’ve changed? Or do I want something else?_

As the Master continued mulling over the question the Doctor stretched his lanky limbs which somehow meant enveloping the other Time Lord in them.

“I don’t know…” he answered with a breezy sigh. The renegade leaned forward so his teeth grazed the long neck of this incarnation as he worked his way up, finally bestowing a kiss on the Fourth’s lips.

The kiss deepened with desperation to capture this moment even though it’d soon to be lost to one of them. Their hands moved through each other’s hair with grasping, curling fingers. The Master decided a quick decision was in order and allowed his mind to flow towards his friend’s with a sparking intensity. He hit upon the pleasure centers and released a burst of serotonin before bolting towards the Doctor’s memories wiping out the events of the past 7 hours with brutal efficiency. He was working on establishing foraged memories of a series of dreams as the Doctor’s fingers on his head slackened until the command for sleep forced him back into slumber.

The Master left him a kiss on the brow then rose from the bed to go find his human companion and get back into the TARDIS.

The Time Lord hadn’t been _entirely_ sure of what he’d expected to find when he found Max, but the scene before him wasn’t it.

The suite was strewn with board games and cards, collateral of a war of wits and chance. The five bodies flopped on various pieces of furniture only seemed to prove his point albeit they were all breathing; two in particular were snoring loud enough for the sound to be received by the High Council and misinterpreted as a distress signal. His eyes surveyed the chaos before finding his pupil leaning against the window sipping tea as they observed him with a distracted air.

“What in Rassilon’s name happened?!” The Master whispered furiously as Max picked their way through the wreckage. Once they got closer his blood started to boil.

“Hmm? Oh!” The strange human touched their cheek where a fist sized bruise was forming. “They thought I was cheating at _Sequence,_ then _Monopoly._ Not my fault I landed on Broadwalk…well…sort of.”

“Who punched you?”

“The brunet now wearing a white shirt,” Max calmly replied once they stood just half a meter in front of him. Talking his arm they led him out of the door then they strolled out of the hotel at a brisk pace. “He was drunk to be fair-well they all were.”

“Besides-I took of them.”

“How?”

“Drugs my dear Master, I dosed them just enough to send their senses into disarray and keep me from further harm.”

The Master sighed as he took out his laser screwdriver and used to break open the door to the club they’d been at last night. He should’ve known Max would’ve found trouble or trouble found them, but this was different. His friend was sporting a bruise the size of a cricket ball.

The silence he radiated was more than good enough a message to them and they started to skip with pride towards the TARDIS. The Master followed at a more leisurely pace, certain for once that he wouldn’t harmed if he decided to take his time.

“You won?”

“YES! All four rounds of _Sequence_ where it was the five of them versus me. Monopoly was much harder, but once I got Boardwalk and the yellow properties it was done.”

He smiled when he put the key in then flung open the TARDIS’ door. “Good for you.”

Max was beaming like an angel with scones and tea as they followed him into the console room shutting the door behind them. Some mutual understanding kept the companion from asking him how his time with the Doctor went, though he wondered…that strange knowing glint in their eye showed itself for the briefest of moments before being tucked away.

The Master watched as the lack of sleep seemed to finally be hitting them. They meandered towards their bedroom and dove in with a delighted sigh that made him smile with genuine joy.

As his friend got nestled in for a long rest he comtemplated his time with the Doctor and their theories. Time was a good catalyst for building trust and that was one thing he had in abundance. He’d find out who and what his ally was and use that information to deliver a plan for the future.

_But…first thing’s first._

The Master strode towards the console and entered in the coordinates for Eaistra 3 and set it one decade after the Doctor’s visit. _Time to give ourselves a real holiday and decide from there what to do about you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking a long term hiatus with this work. I need to focus on my original work and this one doesn't have any admirers other me so...yeah.

**Author's Note:**

> This is definitely a Master-centric fic with the Doctor (appearing in different incarnations) as a side character. There are a couple regenerations between Sacha's Master and the Future Master with their corresponding Doctor in their 16th regeneration. As for the POVS will alternate between the Master and his companion until after the fourth chapter. 
> 
> Also feel free to leave comments or questions.


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